48 Peace Monuments in Italy, Greece, the Vatican City & Malta

Right click image to enlarge.

c370 BCE - Statue of Irene / Eirene, Glyptothek, Munich (Germany). Greek Goddess of Peace. Roman copy of a votive statue executed in bronze by Cephisodotus the Elder (perhaps the father or uncle of Praxieles) & set up in the Agora of Athens after 371 BC to commemorate the Common Peace / Koine Eirene of that year. Although the statue is now lost, it was copied in marble by the Romans, and one of the best surviving copies is in the Munich Glyptothek. 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 8-9. According to Baber, "there is no known record of a statue personifying peace produdced earlier than this one of Irene."

167 BCE - Temple of Concord, Forum Romanum, Rome (Italy). "Dedicated to the Roman goddess Concordia. Destroyed & restored multiple times." /// "In ancient Roman religion, Concordia is the goddess who embodies agreement in marriage & society. Her Greek equivalent is usually regarded as Harmonia, with musical harmony a metaphor for an ideal of social concord or entente in the political discourse of the Republican era. She was thus often associated with Pax ("Peace") in representing a stable society. As such, she is more closely related to the Greek concept of homonoia (likemindedness), which was also represented by a goddess."

28 BCE - Pax: Roman Goddess of Peace Medallion (Asia Minor, now Turkey). 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 10-11. According to Baber, this is "the earliest Roman personification of peace... Produced in honor of the Emperor Augustus [63 BC - 14 AD]. Here Pax [Roman goddess of peace] holds a caduceus, emblem of peace, in her right hand; behind her a serpent (a symbol of healing in Greek & Roman art) rises from a cist or chest containing emblems of the goddess; the whole is surrounded by a laurel wreath." /// Image is from an offer on eBay for $962.50: "AUGUSTUS 28BC Ephesus Mint PAX Cista Mystica LARGE Ancient Silver Roman Coin RARE."

January 30, 9 BCE - Ara Pacis Augustae / Altar of Augustan Peace, Rome (Italy). Built by Roman emperor Augustus Caesar [63 BC - 14 AD]. Enclosed in 2006 by new building designed by American architect Richard Meier (seen in right image). 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 12-13.

About 20 BC - Augusto di Prima Porta / Augustus of Prima Porta, Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican Museums (Vatican City). A 2.04m high marble statue of Augustus Caesar [63 BC - 14 AD] which was discovered on April 20, 1863, in the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, near Rome (Italy). (Augustus Caesar's wife, Livia Drusilla [58 BC-AD 29], retired to the villa after his death.) "The statue's iconography is frequently compared to that of the carmen saeculare by Horace, and commemorates Augustus's establishment of the Pax Romana. The breastplate is carved in relief with numerous small figures depicting the return of the Roman legionary standards or vexillae lost to Parthia by Mark Anthony in the 40's BC and by Crassus in 53 BC, thanks to the diplomacy of Augustus."

75 AD - Templum Pacis / Temple of Peace, Forum of Vespasian, Rome (Italy). Built by Vespasian [9-79 AD]. "He also adorned it with paintings and statues by the greatest of the old masters. In fact, in that temple were collected and deposited all those works that men had hitherto travelled over the whole world to see, longing to set eyes on them even when scattered in different lands... Considered by Pliny to be one of the three most beautiful buildings in Rome. For Herodian, writing more than a century and a half later, the Temple of Peace was 'the largest and most beautiful of all the buildings in the city.'"

About 500 AD - BINCENTIA IN PACE, San Sebastiano Catacomb, Rome (Italy). Inscription (not shown in image) flanked by the Chi-Rho symbol, basket (indicating good works), and dove with olive branch (from Genesis 8:11).

About 500 AD - Grabplatte der Irene mit der Taube, San Callisto Catacomb, Rome (Italy). A grave plate depicting the dove of peace bringing an olive branch to a child.

6th century CE - Mosaic, Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Emilia-Romagna, Ravenna (Italy). "Byzantine umbraculum or bower in form of a shell with doves as a sign of peace." Right image shows multiple such mosaics above the windows on the north side of the nave.

13th Century CE - Churches, Atri, Abruzzo (Italy). "Atri's 13th-century cathedral gave us our first look at the lion-and-lamb theme common to many Abruzzo church facades. At another doorway of the same church, the lions were poised to tuck into a tasty feast of small prey. At another Atri church, the lions were dwarfed by a lamb that looked like a character from Shrek."

1338-39 - Pax, Sala della Pace / Peace Hall, Palazzo Pubblico (town hall), Siena, Tuscany (Italy). Part of the fresco entitled "Effects of Good Government in the City & Countryside" by Ambrogio Lorenzetti [c1290-1348]. 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp.14-15.

1440-1445 - The Battle of San Romano, A set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello [1397-1475] depicting events that took place at the Battle of San Romano in 1432. Much admired in the 15th century. They are now divided between three collections, the National Gallery, London (England), the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence (Italy), and the Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).

Circa 1660 - "Dove of the Holy Spirit" by Gianlorenzo Bernini [1598-1680], Throne of St. Peter, Basilica of St. Peter (Vatican City).

June 9, 1889 - Statue of Giordane Bruno, Campo de' Fiori, Rome (Italy). At site where Bruno was burnt at the stake for heresy on February 17, 1600. On April 20, 1884, Pope Leo XIII published the encyclical Humanum Genus. As a response, the Freemasons decided to create a statue of pantheist Giordano Bruno [1548-1600], a Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet & astrologer. Bruno is now considered a pioneer of freethought & science.

Date? - La Giustizia e la pace si baciano / Justice & Peace Shall Kiss, Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Palazzo Tosio, Brescia (Italy). Depicts a biblical scene, referring to King James, Psalm 85: "Kindness and truth will meet, justice and truth shall kiss." What date, and who is the artist?

1896 - Panathinaiko / Olympic Stadium, Athens (Greece). Site of a stadium since 566 BCE, excavated in 1870, and rebuilt for the Summer games of 1896. Site of the archery competition in 2004.

Date? - Monument to Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Giardini pubblici di Porta Venezia, Milan (Italy). Ernesto Teodoro Moneta [1833-1918] was an Italian journalist. He & Louis Renault [1843-1918] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1907. Monument by Tullio Brianzi was removed during the Fascist period and put back in 1945.

B E L L

1924 - "Maria Dolens" / "Grieving Virgin Mary", Miravalle Hill, Rovereto, Trento (Italy). Largest bell outside Russia and East Asia, and the largest sounding bell in the world. "Cast in Trento in 1924 with bronze from cannons of nations that took part in WW-I. Placed on the Bastione Malipiero / Malipiero Bastion of the Castello di Rovereto. Recast in Verona in 1939 to return to Rovereto exactly one year later. In 1960, following a serious and irreparable crack, recast at the Capanni foundry in Castelnovo Né Monti (Reggio Emilia). Blessed in Rome in Piazza San Pietro by Pope Paolo VI on 31st October 1965. Returned to Rovereto on the 4th of November & placed on the Colle di Miravalle / Miravalle Hill, from where it overlooks the city to this day." The International University of Peoples’ Institutions for Peace (IUPIP) was established in 1993 in Rovereto by the Fondazione Opera Campana dei Caduti / Peace Bell Foundation.

1929-Destroyed in 1940's - Peace Lighthouse, summit of Mount Lycabettus, Athens (Greece). "In honor of the meeting in Athens, Greece, of the [27th] Congress of Universal Peace... The dedication took place after the arrival of the members... At eight P.M. 600 Boy Scouts, carrying Venetian lanterns, started marching through the city and up to the summit of the mountain, where they lighted the Peace Lighthouse, which shone like an enormous star thoughout the sessions of the Congress. It was to be re-lighted each time the League of Nations was in session. [But] this monument was destroyed by the Germans when they moved into Greece in World War II." 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 40-41. Left image scanned from Baber. All information from Baber. NB: Baber dates this monument from 1930, but the conference took place October 6-10, 1929.

July 30, 1929 - Statue of Romulus & Remus, City Hall, Rome, Georgia (USA). "On a base of white marble from Tate, Georgia, with a brass plaque inscribed: 'This statue of the Capitoline Wolf, as a forecast of prosperity and glory, has been sent from Ancient Rome to New Rome during the consulship of Benito Mussolini in the year 1929." In 1940, anti-Italian sentiment due to World War II became so strong that the Rome city commission moved the statue into storage to prevent vandalism and replaced it with an American flag. In 1952, the statue was restored to its former location in front of City Hall." Info courtesy of George & Renate Stone.

September 10, 1838 - Arco della Pace / Arch of Peace, Parco Sempione, Milan (Italy). "Sometimes called Arco Sempione / Sempione Arch. Situated in Piazza Sempione right at the end of the Parco Sempione. Often compared to a miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The work on the arch began in 1806 under Napoleon I, & it was designed by Luigi Cagnola. Just as with the Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon's 1826 defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, halted its construction, but Emperor Franz Josef (Francis Joseph) I of Austria ordered it to be completed, also as an honour to the Vienna Congress and peace treaty of 1815. It was completed by Francesco Peverelli & inaugurated by the Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria."

1951 - "Arts of Peace" Equestrian Statues, Arlington Memorial Bridge, Washington, DC (USA). By American sculptor James Earle Fraser [1876-1953]. "Music & Harvest" (left) is a winged Pegasus between a male figure with a bundle of wheat & a sickle & a woman with a harp. "Aspiration & Literature" (right) is another Pegasus flanked by figures holding a book & a bow. The guilded bronze statues are approximately 17 feet tall atop granite pedestals. They were commissioned in l925 & their designs approved in 1933, but the statues were not erected until after WW-II when they were cast & gilded by Italy as a gift to the USA.

1954 - Women of Kassope, Zalongo (Greece). "A grandiose monument representing the 'Dance of Zalogos.' By sculptor Zogolopoulos. Erected on the rocks where the Souliot women and their children committed suicide [in 1803], not letting the men of the Turk Ali Pasha catch them."

1959 - Museo Internazionale Della Croce Rossa / International Museum of the Red Cross, Via Garibaldi n.50, Castiglione delle Stiviere (Italy). Operated by the Italian Red Cross.

T R A I L

Date? - Friedensweg / Peace Trail, Kaltern, South Tryol (Italy). Leads from Kaltern to the Church of St. Vigil or Vigilius in Altenburg and the ruins of St. Peter. There are seven art objects designed by different artists from the Alps along the way, including the four cardinal virtues (moderation, wisdom, justice and courage) and the Triassic biblical (faith, hope and love)... The sixth station "courage" is a beautiful table at the entrance to the Rastenbachklamm, on narrow wooden bridges is the gorge and along a steep iron level down. The last station of "love" is formed by the ruins of St. Peter... The term "Friedensweg" in northern Italy has yet another meaning. It is a long mountain trail in the South Tyrolean and Italian Dolomites. It runs along the so-called Alpine southern front of the First World War length of 500km.

Date? - Hedge spelling "PAX," lawn of Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi, Assisi (Italy). Mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscan Order, in Assisi (Italy). Birthplace & burial place of St. Francis of Assisi [1181-1226]. One of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy.

After 1963 - Memorial to Grigoris Lambrakis, Corner of Ermou & Eleftheriou Venizelou, Kentro, Thessaloniki (Greece). "If you've read the 1966 novel Z by Vassilis Vassilikos (or seen the 1969 Costas-Gavras staring Yves Montand film about the murder of Grigoris Lambrakis [1912-1963], a leftist member of Parliament, by rightists), this monument is especially moving. The murder precipitated the events leading to the 1967-74 dictatorship of the colonels. A dramatic bronze head & arm, above which flutters a sculpted dove, marks the spot of the murder." /// "On May 29th 1963 a statue of Harry S. Truman is unveiled in Athens. Created by Felix W. de Weldon (creator of the US Marine Memorial of the US flag being raised at Iwo Jima), the Truman statue is a gift from the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA). The statue becomes a popular target of political expression & is blown up numerous times, as well as spray-painted with anti-US slogans. The sad irony is that the dedication of Truman's statue takes place the day after the massively attended Lambrakis funeral."

After 1963 - "Gregoris Lambrakis, a Martyr for Disarmament and Peace!," Agrinion (Greece). Statue.

1979 - "Dove of Peace," General Assembly Lobby, United Nations, New York, New York (USA). Reproduction of a mosaic in the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican City. Presented by Pope John Paul II. Entry #749 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

A R E N A

1985 - Stadio Erinis Kai Filias / Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), Faliro, Piraeus, Athens (Greece). A multi-use indoor sports arena renovated for the 2004 Olympic Games.

1987 - Monument for the Nagasaki Flame of Commitment, near the Hypocenter, Nagasaki Peace Park, Nagasaki (Japan). "Burns to symbolize the pledge that Nagasaki shall remain the last city on Earth to experience nuclear devastation, that nuclear war shall never again be waged, and that there shall be no more bomb victims." "The small flame was sent from Olympian city [sic] in Greece to Nagasaki in 1983. It is said that in ancient Greece all warring parties stopped fighting while the flame was burning during the Olympic Games. Thus, the Olympian Flame is also a symbol of peace. In the evening on every August 8 Peace Lanterns are lit from this flame."

July 31, 1987 - ":Hymn to Life," Peace Symbols Zone, Nagasaki Peace Park, Nagasaki (Japan). From the City of Pistoia, Italy. "Depicts a mother holding her baby high in the air with both hands, an expresstion of love and peace."

Date? - Headquarters, Food & Agriculturture Organization (FAO), United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome (Italy).

Date? - Monumento alla Pace / Monument to Peace, Fossalta di Piave, Province of Venice (Italy).

Date? - Viaggatore de Pace / Peace Traveler, San Gimignano (Italy). Translation of Inscription on circular plaque: "PEACE TRAVELER is something you are that you construct that you give to others starting here and now." Information & photo courtesy of Julie Obermeyer.

Date? - Ponte di Pace / Peace Bridge, Casalechio di Reno (Italy). "There are other new public venues: the Casa per la Pace (House for Peace) which promotes projects on solidarity and tolerance [and] the Ponte di Pace (Peace Bridge), the Bridge over the River Reno..."

Date? - Monumento alla Pace / Monument to Peace, promosso dai Lions Clubs di Verona. Immagine virtuale ambientata sul piazzale antistante Porta Nuova a Verona.

Date? - Monumento alla Pace / Monument to Peace, Bitritto, Province of Bari, Puglia,(Italy).

Date? - Monumento alla Pace e alla Libertà / Peace and Freedom Monument, Piazza Risorgimento, Assago, Province of Milan (Italy). "In the past few weeks 'vandals' have badly damaged the monument created by Korean sculptor Yung Hojin which won the international 'Sculpture for Peace & Freedom' competition organized by the Administration in Raymond collaboration [sic] with the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera and chosen by a vote by the Citizens assaghesi [sic]. Instead of providing for the restoration work and to determine why its much-vaunted security and surveillance systems have not prevented this massacre, the 'Sindaco Acqua Azzurra' has decided to remore the monument [and] to erect a new [one] dedicated to Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour [1810-1861]."

1989 - Statue of National Reconciliation, Klafthmonos Square, Athens (Greece). Celebrates the 40 years from the end of the 1945-49 civil war. Klafthmonos Square means "square of grief," named for civil servants of 19th century who were fired from their state jobs every time the government was changes and gathered there to cry for their fate.

1991 - International World Peace Rose Garden, Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Asssi (Italy). Theme: "Universal Peace with All Creation."

1996 - UNESCO Memorial Plaque, Media School, Pienza, near Siena, Tuscany (Italy). Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO constitution. Text (quoted from the constitution's preamble): "Nello spirito degli uomini hanno inizio le guerre. Nello spirito degli uomini devono essere innalzate le difese della pace. / Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed." "In 1996, UNESCO declared the town a World Heritage Site, and in 2004 the entire valley, the Val d'Orcia, was included on the list of UNESCO's World Cultural Landscapes." /// "It was in this Tuscan town that Renaissance town-planning concepts were first put into practice after Pope Pius II decided, in 1459, to transform the look of his birthplace." Information & left image courtesy of Francesco Pugliese & Peter van den Dungen. Right image of UNESCO plaque marking the Historic Centre of the City of Pienza is courtesy of TripAdvisor.

November 1997 - Holocaust Monument, Egnatia & Papanastiou Streets, Thessaloniki (Greece). ""Dedicated by the Greek people to the memory of the 50,000 Jewish Greeks of Thessaloniki, deported from their Mother City by the Nazi occupation forces in the Spring of 1943 & exterminated in the gas chambers of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps." "Only a few hundred members of what was once the largest Jewish community in Greece lived to return home..."

Date? - Holocaust Monument, Jewish Cemetery, Thessaloniki (Greece).

Date? - Angelo della Pace/ Angel of Peace, Strangolagalli, Province of Frosinone (Italy). ANGELS ITALY

May 24, 1998 - Peace Stupa, Comiso, Sicily (Italy). Dedicated by the Reverend Morishita. Near the NATO base.

B E L L

2000 - Glocke für den Frieden "Concordia" / Concordia Peace Bell, Summit of Kronplatz [2,272 m], Bruneck/Branico (Italy). In German speaking part of Italy. "'Donet deus populis pacem.' / 'God gives peace to the people.' This inscription reveals the sense of the bell. At the same time it is an acknowledgment of gratitude for all those who made a contribution to the development of the successful skiing area Kronplatz. The primary idea for a peace bell came from the local ski pioneer Erich Kastlunger from St. Vigil on the occasion of the turn of millennium. Thereupon the artist Paul de Doss-Moroder from Gröden designed it & supported by the communities Bruneck, Olang, St. Vigil & the cableway companies the project has been realized. The Concordia bell was cast by the Glockengiesserei Oberascher in Salzburg (Austria), and on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the ski center Kronplatz in 2003 it was inaugurated." Weights over 18 tonnes & is set on an 11 m wide panorama platform. Has view of the wonderful mountain landscape between the Zillertaler Alps & the Dolomites. Rung on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 12:00 am. Information courtesy of Dr. Jutta Lehmann of Blaichach (Germany).

November 11, 2000 - Millennia Bell, Assisi (Italy). In Michelangelo's Campidoglio. "In 1999, Bruce Hasson made his largest bell, called Millennia. Weighing 1700 pounds & cast in carbon steel, using melted guns, it is a monument to human survival. The shape of this bell is unorthodox, & it is indeed a unique and inventive piece of sculpture. The ambiguity of its structure is itself a poignant comment on destiny. The sides of the Millennia Bell are carefully patinaed & embellished with reliefs recalling the imagery & geometry of early cartographers. The work is intended to inspire peace, as well as humanity's search for a sustainable environment. This bell was first installed at [ Michelangelo's] Campidoglio in Rome [as seen in image], during the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize Conference, where Mikhail Gorbachev struck it during its dedication. It is now installed in the holy city of Assisi." /// Click here for video of the dedication ceremony.

2006 - Casa per la Pace / House of Peace "La Filanda," Via Canonici Renani 8, Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna (Italy). "Housed in the renovated building of the old Spinning Mill of Reno (La Filanda). Aimed at promoting cultural & raising awareness on the themes of peace, nonviolence, human rights, intercultural, social solidarity & of ethical & solidarity economy. Hosts: (1) Documentation Centre on issues of peace & solidarity, with books, documents & audiovisual materials. (2) A Space Fair-trade at that sell fair trade products & is an active GAS - Solidarity Group Purchase. (3) Archives of the Manifesto Pacifist International, with over 3,000 [peace] posters of the past 50 years represents the largest collection of its kind in the world (collected by Vittorio Pallotti). (4) The Market Solidarity run by the Time Bank for purposes of self-financing. [Google translation]"

October 30, 2011 - Stone tablet for Augusto Masetti, Bologna, Via Castelfidardo (Italy). Augusto Masetti [1888-1966] was an anarchist & anti-militarist Italian who was involved in a case of insubordination to military orders on October 30, 1911, when the military was leaving for the war in Libya. Tablet unveiled on the centenary of this act of resistance. Inscribed "Il soldato che disse no alla guerra." / "The soldier who said no to war." Information courtesy of Vittorio Pallotti & Peter van den Dungen.

G R O V E

June 21, 2013 - Gaia Peace Grove, Golden Bay Headland, Ghajn Tuffieha (Malta). "The area around Ghajn Tuffieha lends itself to peace & tranquility, with its outstanding coastline, sensational landscape & peaceful groves. The grove at Golden Bay Headland was planted 10 years ago around the Watchtower, which dominates the headland, in an area notorious for its windy conditions & sea spray washing over the land. However Gaia was determined to turn this abandoned agricultural land into a fine grove for the public to enjoy while taking a stroll to admire the unique Ghajn Tuffieha view. The [Gaia] Foundation thought that it was fitting to choose such an area, which has flourished despite the harsh conditions, to honour & commemorate a number of personalities who have worked so hard & courageously, and made such sacrifices to build a better a world, thus allowing the persons visiting the area to remember such great persons & to keep their legacies in our collective memory. The area lies within a Natura 2000 site. The peace grove is being inaugurated on the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer, which is also fitting as the persons honoured have worked and contributed to a new phase in a troubled world. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy [1917-1963], who has come to symbolise the road towards greater democracy & good governance. He is among the distinguished persons listed in the grove. The persons mentioned in the grove include a number of Nobel Peace Prize winners. So far the list includes: Nelson Mandela, John Kennedy, Aung San Suu Kji, Steve Bico, Martin Luther King, Benazir Bhutto, Mahatma Gandhi, Yitzak Rabin, Chico Mendes, Robert Kennedy, Dian Fossey, Ken Saro Wiwa, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Vandana Shiva, Malcolm X, Oscar Romero, Pope Jean Paul I, Patrice Lumumba, A number of outstanding journalists, Italian Anti Mafia Judges & Police Commissioners, Mikhail Gorbachev, The Dalai Lama, Dag Hammerskjold.

2014 - Peace Memorial, Veroli (Italy). 99 kilometres southeast of Rome. "Emphasizes the ties between Italy & United Nations (UN) member countries while recognizing the UN's values of peace & brotherhood. The Government of Italy invited UN member states to contribute to a peace memorial that is to be fashioned from mineral samples. The Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Development, today highlighted Canada's contribution of an exceptionally rare piece of Canadian granite to be featured in a new Peace Memorial being constructed in Italy. 'Canada is proud to be part of Italy's new Peace Memorial,' said Minister Oliver. 'Our contribution underscores our commitment to freedom & democracy. It will stand as a lasting symbol of Canada's vast natural resources.' As minerals represent a country's geography, terrain and resources, Natural Resources Canada selected a specimen of granite from the Acasta Gneiss, an outcrop in the Northwest Territories that forms part of the Canadian Shield, the geological core of the North American continent. With an estimated age of 4.2 billion years, the Acasta Gneiss is the Earth's oldest known rock. This is the first time that Canada has sent a sample of rock from the Canadian Shield for use in a UN-related project. Since its inception in 1945, the UN has built over 2,000 peace monuments in order to preserve the memory of an event in a physical & permanent way [sic]." UN COLLECTIONS ITALY 2014 RECORDS

January 14, 2016 - Peace Monument, Sliema Promenade, Sliema (Malta). "The statue was unveiled during a ceremony which marked the end of an international peace initiative called the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. The ceremony was attended by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca & Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia... Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop [later] said that had he known that so much controversy would have erupted following the installation of the Sri Chinmoy statue on the promenade, he would have never accepted to have the monument in the locality... Many believe Sri Chinmoy [1931-2007] to have been a cult-leader, living off the tithe from his followers. A large number of accusations emerged later in Chinmoy’s life relating to fraud & sexual abuse."

September 4, 2016 - Portrait of Mother Teresa (Vatican City). "Charlotte [North Carolina] artist Chas Fagan had only four months to paint what will be the official portrait of Mother Teresa for her sainthood ceremony Sunday [September 4, 2016] in Rome [sic]... When the Roman Catholic Church officially canonizes Mother Teresa, Pope Francis & an estimated crowd of 1 million pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square will gaze on Fagan’s rendering..." Mother Teresa [1910-1997] "founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation which had over 4,500 sisters & was active in 133 countries."

Future - La Rocca alla Pace / The Rock for Peace, Sommocolonia, Tuscany (Italy). Also called "Fortress Dedicated to Peace." "Will be a monument/park & museum on the heights of the village where the ruins of a tenth century fortress stand. The monument will remember all who died in the Battle of Sommocolonia on 26 December 1944: Italian civilians, African-American soldiers (in segregated units), Italian partisan fighters & Axis soldiers (Germans, Austrians & Italian RSI Fascists). At Sommocolonia German forces, numbering three times the Americans garrisoned in the village, attacked & broke through the infamous Gothic Line. The lives of the villagers & the black GI's ("Buffalo Soldiers") who heroically defended Sommocolonia were lost or changed irrevocably." /// Info courtesy of Solace Wales (Marin County, California), author of "Braided in Fire: Buffalo Soldiers and Tuscan Villagers in WWII" about Sommocolonia.